I'm obviously biased, but the Oscar is a Heat Exchange machine, which means better temperature stability and the ability to steam milk at the same time (not that it matters for straight shots). Still, the Oscar is a light prosumer machine, NSF4 rated for light cafe use, the Isomac is a Single Boiler, Dual Use machine, which are more entry-level. The Oscar has one of the largest boilers of any home machine out there, to my knowledge, at 2.3 Liters.

Wow! The Quickmill Silvano is $995 which is in my price limitations. Explain how this machine compares to the Oscar Simonelli if you know and what does it being 15 amps mean to me? I basically will only use this machine for espresso with the rare occasion of serving a friend a cap if they want.

Product InformationThe Isomac Zaffiro is one most recommended and highly regarded espresso machines on the market today. Perfect for heavy use, this prosumer machine is the perfect addition to any home or small office. Don't let its smaller design and shiny stainless steel housing fool you. This machine is a bull, weighing it at 46 power-filled pounds.

15 Amps means it can plug into pretty much any electrical outlet, rather than a heavy duty one. The Silvano is a little SBDU machine, which means it has a small boiler for both steam and hot water. The only advantage--which doesn't really translate--over the Oscar is the PID, which is a little controller chip so you can dial in your temperature. It's okay for the price, but please don't let the plastic exterior of the Oscar fool you. It is the superior machine in the running and is in a separate class entirely. Check out the big teardown project me, Helen, and Peter did here:

It can also plug into 15 Amps and doesn't need any plumbing either. The Silvano doesn't have a commercial size brew group, like the Isomac or Nuova Simonelli. The Isomac is nice, but if you're going E61, save up for an HX or Dual Boiler machine. The price you'd pay for your Oscar is the same I paid for mine, and I'm almost certain it's in better condition. Are these machines local, where you can look at them?

15 Amps means it can plug into pretty much any electrical outlet, rather than a heavy duty one. The Silvano is a little SBDU machine, which means it has a small boiler for both steam and hot water. The only advantage--which doesn't really translate--over the Oscar is the PID, which is a little controller chip so you can dial in your temperature. It's okay for the price, but please don't let the plastic exterior of the Oscar fool you. It is the superior machine in the running and is in a separate class entirely.

The 0.7 liter boiler (only 0.1 liter smaller than the Zaffiro) is on the larger side of "little" and it definitely is not a SBDU machine. The boiler is dedicated to making the well controlled shot while the steam is provided by a thermoblock with a separate pump. It, like the Oscar, cam steam milk and pull a shot at the same time. When you only want to pull a shot, the steam bank can be left off by an external switch to save energy. The drip tray is massive too, which I like. I have an Oscar too but hated the small drip tray and difficulty filling the water tank (which you will be doing a lot) but the Silvano is fillable from the side for convenience. The Silvano machine provides very stable shot temps. The addition of the externally adjustable pressure measured by a gauge along with the PID provides the feedback needed to tweak for the best settings for a given coffee blend.

If you haven't already guessed, us coffee geeks like to steer newcomers down our respective paths once we become settled and happy. It helps us cost-justify our crazy hobby and also helps us better get you started. Don't get me wrong, the Silvano is a fine machine, it's just in a separate class. I think either one would probably suit your needs fine. I stand corrected on the Silvano. Thermoblock machines are kind of their own special thing and are making waves recently, especially with the relatively new Crossland CC1 (similar to the Silvano in many respects, though cheaper and not as heavy duty). I need to level with you in that a used Oscar can very likely have issues that require opening the case and getting out the metric wrenches. If you'd rather not face that possibility, then a new Silvano might be the way to go. I would make sure you ask how old it is, how many times it was used on average, if it was stored for any length of time with water in the boiler, and most importantly, why it's being sold.

Another fine machine you may want to consider in your price range is the La Nuova Era Cuadra, which is a smaller HX machine than the Oscar, but features the classic E61 brewhead, which allows for better temperature stability and some just plain cool looks:

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